Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Rocchigiani, Angela Maria
• Ferretti, Luca
• Ledda, Alice
• Di Nardo, Antonello
• Floris, Matteo
• Bonelli, Piero
• Loi, Federica
• Idda, Maria Laura
• Angioi, Pier Paolo
• Zinellu, Susanna
• Fiori, Mariangela Stefania
• Bechere, Roberto
• Capitta, Paola
• Coccollone, Annamaria
• Coradduzza, Elisabetta
• Dettori, Maria Antonietta
• Fattaccio, Maria Caterina
• Gallisai, Elena
• Maestrale, Caterina
• Manunta, Daniela
• Pedditzi, Aureliana
• Piredda, Ivana
• Palmas, Bruna
• Salza, Sara
• Sechi, Anna Maria
• Tanda, Barbara
• Madrau, Maria Paola
• Sanna, Maria Luisa
• Cherchi, Simonetta
• Ponti, Nicoletta
• Masala, Giovanna
• Sirica, Roberto
• Evangelista, Eloisa
• Oggiano, Annalisa
• Puggioni, Giantonella
• Ligios, Ciriaco
• Dei Giudici, Silvia

Titel

Origin, Genetic Variation and Molecular Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 Strains Circulating in Sardinia (Italy) during the First and Second COVID-19 Epidemic Waves

Ist Teil von

• Viruses, 2023-01, Vol.15 (2), p.277

Ort / Verlag

Switzerland: MDPI AG

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Understanding how geography and human mobility shape the patterns and spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 is key to control future epidemics. An interesting example is provided by the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Europe, which was facilitated by the intense movement of tourists around the Mediterranean coast in summer 2020. The Italian island of Sardinia is a major tourist destination and is widely believed to be the origin of the second Italian wave. In this study, we characterize the genetic variation among SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating in northern Sardinia during the first and second Italian waves using both Illumina and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Next Generation Sequencing methods. Most viruses were placed into a single clade, implying that despite substantial virus inflow, most outbreaks did not spread widely. The second epidemic wave on the island was actually driven by local transmission of a single B.1.177 subclade. Phylogeographic analyses further suggest that those viral strains circulating on the island were not a relevant source for the second epidemic wave in Italy. This result, however, does not rule out the possibility of intense mixing and transmission of the virus among tourists as a major contributor to the second Italian wave.